To sum up last season, Eric Selleck often thinks of the memorable line from “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby": “If you’re not first, you’re last.”

Despite the first-ever playoff series victory in Rampage history, Selleck still has a bad taste in his mouth from the team’s exit in the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs. For Selleck, the early playoff departure has motivated him during offseason workouts.

“It was great that we made the playoffs, but in the end we didn’t win everything and we can’t be happy about that,” Selleck said. “We want to win everything and it’s time to refocus and get back at it. We want to be the top team in the league.”

Coming into this third year with the Panthers franchise, and second in San Antonio, Selleck hopes to improve his offensive production from last season. In 71 games, he tallied nine points (5g, 4a) for the Rampage.

However, he led the team with 204 penalty minutes in the regular season, which was also good for fifth in the American Hockey League.

“I’ve been working on a little bit of everything this offseason,” he said. “I want to chip in more offensively and keep finishing off my checks.”

Despite being a fierce competitor on the ice, Selleck takes pride in his contributions to the community outside of the rink. Like his Rampage teammates, Selleck participated in several community service initiatives, including Face-Off Against Kids Cancer and Habitat for Humanity.

“In the past I’ve been on teams where we didn’t do nearly as many things in the community as we do in San Antonio,” Selleck said. “We all enjoy getting out there and doing whatever we can. We like putting smiles on our fan’s faces.”

Specifically, Selleck was proud to be a part of the Rampage’s “Pink in the Rink” night last season, which supported cancer awareness. The game raised $48,000 for the San Antonio Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure and was the first sellout in franchise history with 16,151 fans in attendance.

This season, “Pink in the Rink” night will be on Feb. 1 against the Rockford Ice Hogs. For tickets, click here.

“To have more than 16,000 people for ‘Pink in the Rink’ was amazing,” he said. “We really appreciate that support from the fans, especially when it’s for a good cause.”

Hailing from Spencerville, Ontario, Selleck admits it was an adjustment coming to South Texas to continue his professional hockey career.

“Growing up and living in Canada, you’re used to going to the rink in three feet of snow,” he said. “In San Antonio, you don’t need the coats, mittens and boots. You just need shorts and sunglasses.”

With training camp set to kick off at the end of the month, Selleck is excited to see what the new infusion of players will bring to the table this season.

“Last year we needed a few more components,” he said. “It will be nice to have some fresh faces in the room and create a new atmosphere. Florida has been great with providing a lot of very talented players in San Antonio. ”

Regardless of the new faces this season, Selleck said the goal remains the same.

“The guys who were here last year will need to lead the new guys to show them what we expect of each other here in San Antonio,” he said. “Winning the championship is everyone’s goal.”